Marie Callender's Cheesy Chicken &amp; Rice frozen dinner. ConAgra issued a recall of the product because it may be linked to an outbreak of salmonella Chester that has sickened 29 people in 14 states since April.

FOLLOW @USATODAYHEALTH

By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

Food giant ConAgra has issued a national recall of all Marie Callender's brand Cheesy Chicken & Rice frozen meals, regardless of when they were made, because they appear to be linked to an outbreak of salmonella Chester that has sickened 29 people in 14 states since April.

The company sells 5.6 million of the frozen dinners a year, said ConAgra's Teresa Paulsen. "We estimate that prior to recall there would be 50,000 to 100,000 cases (each containing eight dinners) in market. So that would be 400,000 to 800,000 individual packages possibly in market," she said. The company, ConAgra Foods Packaged Foods of Council Bluffs, Iowa, made the announcement Thursday night.

"There are 29 laboratory confirmed cases, which means that hundreds of people have become ill," said William Keene, an epidemiologist with the state of Oregon who¹s been a part of the national investigation of the outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had published estimates that for every lab-confirmed-salmonella case, there are roughly 38 people sick.

The outbreak may not be over. "Even if it's a single production problem, these cases can come on for a long time," Keene said. "There are people who buy them in bulk, a lot at a time, and then eat them over several months."

Consumers who purchased these dinners should "throw the product away and return the package to the retailer for a refund," Paulsen said.

Consumers with questions about the recall should contact ConAgra Foods at 1-866-484-9610.

Salmonella can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever, usually within eight to 72 hours of eating the contaminated food. Symptoms, including chills, headache, nausea and vomiting, can last for up to a week.

In infants, the elderly and people with impaired immune systems salmonella poisoning can be life-threatening.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.